


Unexpected Parenthood

by dianesmalone



Category: Cheers
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 00:58:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18840382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianesmalone/pseuds/dianesmalone
Summary: Living her new life in Maine, spending her days finishing her novel, Diane finds herself pregnant. She decides to turn to an old friend for advice on how to tell the father that she is carrying his child.





	Unexpected Parenthood

Three frantic knocks come at the door and that makes Lilith approach her door quickly. “Hold on I’m coming I’m coming!” she exclaims as the knocks continue.

Lilith opens the door to an unexpected visitor. One whom she had not seen in several months. There stood Diane Chambers whose face was nearly beet red and tear stained. From that and the look of worry on her face, it was quite obvious that Diane was in need of help. 

Lilith opens the door wider and invites her in. “Pl-please tell me Frasier isn’t here” Diane stammers. 

She shakes her head to that, “he’s at Cheers” Lilith replies.

Usually Lilith would be there with him but today had been one for those days where she just needed to be by herself. She certainly was not expecting to be here with Diane of all people. 

Diane had left over two months ago to go achieve her dreams of being an author. Though she saw how it hurt Sam, Lilith was proud of Diane for taking charge of her future. 

She directs Diane over to the couch and takes a seat across from the trembling woman. Lilith had really been hoping she had enough of dealing with other people’s problems for the day but that certainly was not the case. She could only imagine what brought Diane back to Boston.

“I hate to sound rude but... what are you doing in Boston? And why come to me?” Lilith questions.

Diane sniffles and wipes her teary eyes again. God if she didn’t calm down she was going to break down again and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. 

The blonde pauses for a moment and takes in a deep breath before letting it out slow. She then turns to Lilith. “As you might be aware of... I left Boston almost three months ago to finish my book. I’ve been doing so and while it hasn’t been the easiest I’ve been enjoying it” She was beginning to ramble without realizing as usual.

Lilith stops her before she can go further, “so what brings you back here? If things are going as well as you say.”

Diane sighs and looks down, “well for the past few weeks I’ve been feeling like I was sick. Throwing up, fever symptoms, mood swings, fatigue, among other things... I thought maybe I was just stressed. Even for a second there I thought that I had caught the flu or something. However, last week I went to the doctor to figure it out and only just a few days ago I learned what was happening. I’m pregnant and Sam is the father” she concludes. 

Silence fills the room for a moment as Lilith takes in everything she had just said. Pregnancy was the last reason Lilith had on her mind as to why Diane had returned. 

“Well when I found out... I was overjoyed but heartbroken. I still am. I’m so elated to be having Sam’s child, to be a mother. Yet I don’t know what’s going to happen when I tell him. If I tell him. That’s why I came to you... you’re the only other person besides him that I would trust to talk about this with. Frasier would lose his mind” Diane carries on talking, needing to just let it all out.

Lilith nods, falling into the role of the psychiatrist since she just assumed that was what Diane wanted. “So what do you think is best? Telling Sam could be beneficial and it could go a number of ways” she points out.

Diane lets out another sigh and looks down, “I don’t know. I want to tell him and I came here with the intention to.. but I’m afraid. I would love for him to be happy but I know that won’t be his first response. Then he may never be happy about this... I don’t know” she confesses.

She was truly lost. Diane expected shock from Sam and who knew how long that would last. She felt so stupid for letting this happen. Even though she had been on birth control and made sure that he used protection while they had sex, the odds played against them. She knew he wasn’t ready to be a father especially since she had been gone now for a few months. Perhaps if they had stayed together they would be going down the path but they didn’t. This was all such a mistake. 

Lilith looks at Diane, “I think you need to do what you believe is best. Not only for yourself but for your unborn child. If that means telling Sam then so be it. If not, then that’s okay too” she states.

Diane looks up again, “okay... but step out of being a psychiatrist for just a moment... and tell me what Lilith Sternin would tell me to do. What you might think is best” Diane begs. 

As much as she appreciated the psychological approach from Lilith, she just needed a friend. Someone who could give her solid advice and be there for her. Diane really didn’t have a ton of those people in her life.

“What I would say to do is go to Sam. I think it’s best that he knows. After all, as the father I think he has the right to know. What you two decide to do together with this alteration in your lives is up to you” Lilith advises. 

Diane looks at her for a moment then nods, she was right. No matter how this went she knew that telling Sam was her best option. “Thank you Lilith, really” she says as she begins to stand. 

Lilith does the same and sticks out her hand. Though to her dismay, Diane brings her into a hug. God she hated hugs. The hug causes Lilith to go as stiff as a board but that doesn’t stop Diane. “Yes well.. you’re welcome” she replies. 

Twenty or so minutes later Diane arrives at Cheers. Funny how she thought she’d never return to this bar ever again several times and here she was again. It was like the universe was trying to tell her something. 

As she walks over to the stairs she stares down at them and feels her stomach begin to twist. Though she was nervous as one could be, she begins to step down the stairs. Diane was fighting hard to ignore her thoughts telling her this was wrong and ignore how badly she wanted to run and never look back. She had to push herself into this, there was no way she could back out of this. 

When she reaches the door to Cheers, her nerves slightly calm. It was as if she was returning home. She oddly felt a sense of serenity while still incredibly nervous. Though it felt like a lifetime for her to open the door and step through, it was only just seconds. 

Here she was, standing in the bar that changed her life in ways she could’ve never imagined again. Diane begins to look toward the bar for the familiar faces she desperately craved to see. There was one face she wanted to see most of all. 

Diane watches as Woody serves Norman another beer. Both his and Clifford’s facial expressions change from resting to questioning. They were confused to see her. “Is that Diane?” She hears Norman ask Woody. 

That causes not only Woody but also Frasier to turn around and spot her. Frasier raises his brows and Woody just smiles. He was as happy as ever to see her. That warmed her heart, he was such a sweet boy. “Say it is Miss Chambers” Woody acknowledges.

“Hello Woody” Diane finally speaks as she begins to walk toward the bar. 

As soon as she reaches it Frasier begins to interrogate her. “Diane.. what are you doing here? Why... why are you here?” He questions. 

Diane looks at him and keeps it all in, needing to talk to Sam before anyone else. “I came here for Sam... is he here?” She questions. 

“He’s in the back, should be out any minute. Lucky for you it’s Carla’s day off or she’d be throwing a fit” Woody points out. 

Diane nods, suddenly thankful that Carla didn’t bring attention to her in a way Diane knew she would have. She wanted this to go smoothly and calmly. 

It’s only seconds later that Sam comes walking out of the pool room, at first not seeing Diane.

That prompts the blonde to step out from behind the bar and toward the left side. She finally sees him in full view and she feels her heart skip a beat. 

Diane was still stupidly head over heels for him. Even though she had tried to move forward, thinking she probably would never see him again it never worked. She tried to tell herself that he wasn’t the one but that was a lie. 

Seeing him in the flesh for the first time in nearly three months made Diane’s heart begin to race. Her nerves had picked right back up and intensified from where they had been before she came in. 

As soon as Sam spots Diane he stops dead in his tracks, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out him. Was he dreaming? What was she doing here? Maybe she had finished her book a lot sooner than she planned. No that was just him wishfully thinking. 

Neither of the two say anything for a moment and just stare at each other. It was as if both of them were trying to figure out if the other was real. 

“Hi” Diane says, breaking the silence.

“Hi....” Sam returns, feeling his palms begin to sweat and his heart race.

“W-What are you doing here?” He follows up, she was the last person he expected to see.

Nearly the entirety of the bar was watching the two of them. Everyone was heavily invested in seeing what was going to happen.

Diane swallows, giving herself a second to calm her nervousness so she could appear confident. “I came here to see you... to talk to you” she replies. 

Sam nods, “let’s take this into my office then...” he suggests and turns, leading Diane toward his office. 

The two quietly step into the room and Diane makes sure the door behind them is closed. There was an awkward silence between them even though both knew that they wanted nothing more than to be all over each other. 

However due to the circumstances, that wasn’t possible. Diane knew she had to get done what she came to do. 

The blonde stays standing by the door and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I just want to start off by saying that I’m sorry for not calling... it just...” she trails off.

Sam shakes his head and dismisses it, “it’s fine, I understand” he assures. 

She takes in another deep breath, “right okay. Well then I better just get to what I came here to say. There’s no way that I know how to ease into it. For almost a month now I’ve been experiencing health problems... I thought it was stress or even the flu but it’s not. Sam... I’m pregnant..” Diane confesses.

She allows a few seconds to pass to let him speak, watching his face go from calm to shocked. 

Sam’s eyebrows raise as he hears the news, he wasn’t sure what to say. He was beyond shocked. Pregnancy was not why he thought Diane returned in the slightest. It was not even on his mind. 

“You’re sure it’s mine..?” He questions, wanting to be positive that she was positive. 

Diane nods, “the doctor told me that I’m twelve weeks along... I left twelve weeks ago. We made love several times the night before I left and several times before then...” she informs.

Sam nods to that, it was definitely his child. He assumed so anyway because from what he understood he was the last person she has been with. Sam doesn’t say anything, having to process this fully.

When he doesn’t speak Diane begins to ramble, ”I know this is a lot to put on you and I’m so so sorry. I am. I feel so foolish for letting this happen. I mean I know we were as careful as one can be but I should’ve known better and I’m sorry. I know you’re not ready for kids... we’re not even married or together.. and I’m sorry. I’m really sorry” she couldn’t stop apologizing.

Diane was beginning to feel awful about this again. How on earth could she let this happen? How could she be so foolish? 

Sam steps forward finally, as his thoughts settle and the new information begins to process. “Diane... please stop apologizing” he insists. 

The blonde looks up at him as her eyes begin to feel with tears again. This had to be a mood swing kicking in along with pure shame. “I-I feel so bad for putting you in this position. I don’t want you to hate me” she sniffles as the tears begin to flow again. 

Right away, unable to hold himself back, Sam pulls Diane into his embrace and holds her close. He still hated it when she would cry. “I don’t hate you” he whispers as she begins to cry harder against his chest. 

He decides to not say anything else as she cries, he just rubs her back and holds her tight. Sam couldn’t imagine how stressed and emotionally drained she was. He was suddenly feeling bad for not being happier. It was just hard considering the circumstances.

Sam was happy that Diane was having their baby. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to be a father yet but he was glad it was with Diane. However, he was uncertain of what was to come next. When she left, Sam felt empty. He had never quite experienced heartbreak like this before. In fact up until now he was still recovering from losing her. What was to come of them? Were they going to do this together? If so, what did it mean for their relationship? Sam wanted nothing more than to marry her still but he knew that wouldn’t happen for a long while. 

As Diane begins to calm down again, she starts to pull away. When she turns to go over to his couch, she grabs his hand and brings him with her. Taking a seat, Diane sniffles and begins to wipe away her tears. She was suddenly feeling silly for acting like this. 

Sam watches as he sits next to her. Slowly, he reaches over and pushes some hair behind her ear. “I don’t hate you” he whispers to her again, knowing she was still thinking that. 

Diane sniffs and nods, knowing that to be true. She then adjusts herself on the couch, sitting up straighter to regain her composure. “I know that my leaving must’ve hurt you more than I’ll ever know.. and I’m sorry for intruding into your life again. I felt that I couldn’t not tell you. I don’t expect anything from you. I couldn’t ask you to be part of this child’s life if it’s not what you want or feel prepared for. So... if that’s what you want I’ll get out of your hair” she insists. 

Sam looks at her for a moment, considering his options. Though he was pretty sure of what he wanted. “Well I’m not sure if I am ready to be a father. Seeing you and learning that you’re pregnant with my child isn’t something I thought would happen today” he begins.

Diane sighs quietly and begins to stand, she couldn’t bear sitting here a second longer. She knew rejection when she saw it. “Thank you Sam for being honest... I should probably get out of here and back home” she states.

Diane wasn’t even considering the fact that he wasn’t rejecting her. She could suddenly feel herself blocking out the urge to cry and holds her head high. Was she sure if she could do this on her own? Raise a child? Absolutely not. However she was sure that she would have to do it without him. 

“Diane... you didn’t let me finish” Sam says as he stands as well. Following her toward the door, he stands several inches behind her. 

“What?” The blonde questions and turns to look at her former lover again. 

“What I was going to say was... learning all of this isn’t something that I thought would happen today. But, I would be stupid to let you walk out of here again. Besides, I want to be a part of our baby’s life” he says. 

Diane stands silently for a moment and examines his face. She was trying to find a flaw in his expression, something that was covering his lie. She was just afraid that this would be temporary. “You’re serious?” 

Sam nods and takes her hands into his, “I don’t exactly know how to be a father... I never had a good relationship with my own but I want to be sure that I have the best relationship with our child. I want to be there for it and for you every step of the way” he assures. 

Suddenly she feels a smile come to her lips. Sam didn’t know how relieved Diane was feeling in this moment. Of course she would’ve been able to handle raising a child by herself but she was grateful that Sam wanted to be apart of it.

The blonde then looks down at their hands, remembering that he was holding them still. “What does this mean... for us?” She questions as she looks back up. 

“If I’m honest to you about how I feel for once in my life... I’m still in love with you” Sam admits.

Diane looks at him, a smile coming to her face again. Her eyes begin to sparkle as well as she feels her chest fill with warmth. It felt so good to hear that he was feeling the same. “I’m so happy you said that... because I’m still in love with you too” she confesses. 

“What about your book? I pushed you to go and live your dream and I could never ask you to give that up. I want you to be happy” he insists. 

“I’ve come to realize something in the almost three months I’ve been away... Being with you matters so much more to me than I ever realized. Besides, I can still be here and finish my book. Being away was incredibly lonely and not worth it. I want to stay here... and I want to be here with you” Diane assures. 

Sam smiles, feeling a weight that he had carried for months finally lift off his shoulder. “Marry me” the words come out of his mouth faster than his brain could even process. He couldn’t wait a second longer to ask.

Immediately, her heart rate begins to pick up again. She could feel her heart pounding away at her chest. He couldn’t be serious could he? No. No that was crazy. After three months of being apart and thinking they’d never see each other again he still wanted to marry her? 

“Sam...” she says and pushes it off as if it was just a joke. 

“What? Just like being part of our child’s life, I’m serious about this” he insists. 

As his words fill her ears Diane begins to feel a sensation of love and happiness spread all over her. He really wanted to be with her. It wasn’t a joke. Sam wanted her. 

“I... I don’t know what to say” she says with a slight nervous chuckle. She was so overwhelmed with the fact that he genuinely wanted to be with her. Not just be other parent to their child, not just as a friend, he wanted to be her husband. It was all dreamt about for the last few months. Hell, Diane wanted to be Sam’s wife a long time ago. That was no question for her. 

Sam brings her hands to his lips and gently kisses them. Just as he had when he first proposed to her. He was incredibly serious about this. “Well... a yes would be preferred” he says, adding that charming smile of his. 

Diane can’t help but giggle again and nod, “yes. Yes I’ll marry you” she agrees.

Sam smiles at her response and leans in as the two continue to hold hands. Their lips meet and stay moving against each other slow for a few moments. 

Diane pulls away with a smile on her face, she hadn’t felt this happy since she left this place. There was probably something to that. Being at Cheers and in Boston seemed to be her root of happiness. She was done with trying to leave it. 

His arms suddenly come around her torso as he pulls her close to him. It felt right to have her there. Sam felt like everything was finally right in the world again. He never wanted to let go of her again. 

She hums quietly as her arms come around his upper torso. Diane quiet enjoyed when they would just hold each other, it was extremely calming. 

The two continue to quietly hold each other in their arms. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right. Both were filled with joy in more ways than one. Soon enough, they would be welcoming their first child together. It most certainly wasn’t the way either one of them thought this would happen but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were going to be the best parents ever and they were going to give their child a loving and happy home.

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this one so I hope all of you enjoy it as well. Kudos and reviews are always welcome. Also I hope you guys find it easier to read my this, I might go back through and fix my others. I feel like it’s easier to read when the paragraphs are spaced out. Enjoy!


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